With millions across the country out of work because of the COVID-19 pandemic, relationships between some tenants and landlords are strained.

After receiving several complaints from tenants through email, Facebook, and word of mouth, Village of New Paltz Trustee Alexandria Wojcik decided to create a form that renters could fill out to file a complaint with the village board.

“I found it was really necessary to find a way to catch all of the complaints that were kind of flying around," said Wojcik. "So that I would be able to connect people with, like, either the Landlord-Tenant Relations Council, or, you know, connect them with other resources.”

For the past month, tenants have been filling out the form to file complaints about issues with rent, privacy, common area sanitization, and even landlords asking to bring potential residents by to view the apartments or homes.

"Twenty people so far fill out this form and it's not been like a campaign that I've done out there, or anything," Wojcik said. "And, you know, for a village this small, that feels like a lot.”

She said she created the form because she was unable to meet with tenants at community events and meetings like she could before the restrictions.

“A lot of folks are expressing concern about not being able to make rent on time,” said Wojcik.

While she is a renter herself, Wojcik said landlords are encouraged to fill out the form as well. She hopes that they contact her to share ways of how they are working with their tenants so that she can share that information with other landlords.

“I’m really worried honestly about what we're going to see when we get out of this if people keep, you know, owing more and more as time goes on,” said Wojcik.

She hopes to use the information that she gathers with this form to show support for a call for rent flexibility and the proposed state legislation for the cancellation of rent. For more information or to fill out the form, click here.